In recent years, there has been an accelerated growth in the use of contactless electromagnetic or magnetic resonant data storage (“RDS”) devices, or switchable RDS (“SRDS”) devices (for example implemented as tags, cards, inlays, embedded elements, and similar devices), for inventory and facility control and management, for product tracking during transportation (e.g., throughout a supply chain), for security purposes (personal identification (e.g., passports, driver's licenses, alien registration cards), access control, etc.), and to facilitate various forms of electronic information interchange (for example in electronic commerce, such as payment cards, etc.). As their cost decreases and their capabilities increase, these RDS devices are also finding their way into many other applications. In addition, RDS devices are combined with electronic article surveillance (EAS) components for use.
However, conventional SRDS devices suffer from a serious disadvantage—default is “Always-OFF”; only the user can switch it ON for use. This kind of default Always-OFF SRDS devices can be a component (e.g., inlay) or finished product (e.g., card). But in many situations, specifically, during the SRDS devices manufacture application, there is a need to communicate with SRDS device for checking or read/write the data etc. on demand. And in another application demand is for supply chain use to trace product, which requests that the SRDS device be Always-ON before point of sale, and so on. Some of the EAS components also have disadvantages—it may have “resurgence” after deactivation. Some products may have two different types of EAS component, but usually one store uses one type of system. Therefore if a store actually has an anti-shoplifting system to deactivate a label they will only deactivate one of the two. Those are often the reason why people trigger an alarm while entering a store, which can cause great frustration for both customers and staff. The problem is most evident in shopping malls where customers float between stores.
In order to address the above problem, applicant in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,253,568 and 8,253,569 entitled “SECURE ELECTROMAGNETIC DATA STORAGE ELEMENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF SELECTIVELY DETERMINED SWITCHABLE SECURITY MODES”, using a security mode control component to keep the SRDS device in default Always-ON. But surely something can be improved.
It would thus be desirable to provide an advantageous SRDS element apparatus that may be implemented as a SRDS tags, labels, cards, tickets, stickers, inlays, embed components, etc. with a connecting component. It would be desirable to provide a SRDS element apparatus that is by default placed in an “Always-ON” security mode in which it is freely accessible until the disabling of the connecting component, to an “Always-OFF” security mode in which the SRDS element is no longer accessible. Thereafter selectively engage the security mode selection component to temporarily set the SRDS element to an “ON” security mode. It would furthermore be desirable to provide a SRDS element security mode selection component with a retention component that is operable by the user to selectively switch the SRDS element from an “Always-OFF” security mode in which the device is not accessible to an “Always-ON” security mode: that is easy and inexpensive to fabricate, that is readily accessible to, and operable by, the user, that is reliable, and that does not damage the SRDS element in which it is implemented after repeated use. Optionally, to provide at least one EAS component with SRDS element, and also include a connecting component, or use different combination of ways to deactivate/destroy the EAS component(s).